The sacred and mundane collide and collaborate through the art on display in the Sheldon Statewide Gallery for 2009-10, "Divine Abstractions."

The 21-piece display "presents evolving portrayals of the divine and explores the impetus to fuse the sacred, art and the new realities of science." The exhibit will be presented beginning this spring in Lincoln at the Sheldon Museum of Art and tour through Nebraska as part of Sheldon Statewide, one of the university's premier outreach programs that brings the arts to people across Nebraska.

The sculptures, paintings, photographs and prints will be on display in Aurora, Chadron, Columbus, McCook, North Platte and York. Featured artists include Josef Albers, Hans Arp, Corita Kent, Gustave Baumann, Helen Lundeberg and Salvador Dali.

In addition to highlighting classic works of art, Sheldon Statewide offers four teacher training workshops focusing on integrating arts into the classroom and incorporating "Divine Abstractions: Spiritual Expressions in Art." Thanks to funding by the Nebraska Arts Council, participants will be able to view the exhibition at the end of the workshop.

The 2008-2009 Sheldon Statewide exhibit, "From Particles to Planets," will complete its run with an exhibit in Nebraska City this fall. That program also offers lesson plans to allow teachers to incorporate art into a variety of classes as well as education guides, all available on line.

Sheldon Statewide was created 23 years ago to serve Nebraska communities throughout the state by sharing the museum's outstanding collection of American art. It is supported by the Sheldon Art Association, Nebraska Arts Council, Farmers Mutual Insurance Company of Nebraska, James and Rhonda Seacrest and Lonnie Pierson Dunbier.